I’ve all the time beloved to smile — a lot in order that I gained “Finest Smile” in highschool. However because the years handed and I acquired busier with work, first as an leisure journalist and now because the co-host of Web page Six’s “Digital Reali-Tea” podcast and Web page Six Radio on SiriusXM, I began noticing my smile much less for its appeal and extra for its flaws.
The perpetrator? An ideal storm of uncared for retainers, years of consuming Eating regimen Coke and iced espresso, and — I’ll admit it — extreme at-home bleaching classes that left my enamel weak and patchy. My once-straight tooth had shifted, my entrance two tooth regarded awkwardly dominant in comparison with the smaller ones beside them, and from sure angles, my smile regarded jagged and uneven. In images and movies, I’d discover myself strategically smirking as a substitute of flashing a full grin.
So this summer season, I made a decision to do one thing about it. And if I used to be going to do veneers, I used to be going to do them proper — which is why I turned to Dr. Nick Mavrostomos, higher generally known as Dr. Mavro, the 31-year-old rising star of beauty dentistry at New York Metropolis’s world-famous Apa Aesthetic.
After getting a nostril job to refine my look and a decrease blepharoplasty to eliminate my pesky eye luggage this 12 months, veneers felt like the ultimate step in my glow-up journey. Disclaimer: Customized dentition at Apa Aesthetic, which has areas in NYC, Los Angeles, Miami and Dubai, can vary in value from $800 to greater than $5,000 per tooth — however, for me, investing in my vanity has been invaluable.
Assembly Dr. Mavro
For those who’re unfamiliar with Apa Aesthetic, it’s mainly the Rolls-Royce of smile makeovers. The apply’s clientele consists of celebrities like Jennifer Lopez, Uma Thurman, Brooks Nader and each Kendall and Kylie Jenner. “Actual Housewives” favorites Lisa Hochstein, Ramona Singer, Kyle Richards and Jenn Fessler are additionally proud sufferers, in addition to “Jersey Shore” legends Mike “The State of affairs” Sorrentino and Vinny Guadagnino.
And Dr. Mavro? He’s constructed a cult following of his personal. His affected person listing consists of Bravo stars Lindsay Hubbard and Jesse Solomon, New York Giants gamers Saquon Barkley and Malik Nabers, and “Not Skinny However Not Fats” podcast host Amanda Hirsch, who as soon as joked in a cheeky Instagram Story that she manifests dental points simply to spend time with him.
From the second I met him at my session, I understood why. Dr. Mavro is equal elements clinician and artist — heat, charismatic, and with an eye fixed for element that borders on perfectionist (in one of the best ways). He studied dentistry at NYU, the place he graduated with honors in Aesthetic Dentistry, earlier than finishing his residency on the Brooklyn VA. He’s gained awards from each the American Academy of Beauty Dentistry and the American Academy of Esthetic Dentistry — however what’s most placing is his ardour. Dentistry, to him, isn’t nearly fixing tooth; it’s about enhancing an individual’s total sense of self.
Appointment 1: The Session
Throughout our session, I instructed Dr. Mavro all my considerations — the dimensions disparity of my tooth, the reverse smile arc that made my canines seem too lengthy and the discoloration that had crept in over time. He instantly put me relaxed.
“I feel the perfect time period that I can describe what you’re seeing is it’s a boyish smile,” he defined, describing my present proportions intimately. His imaginative and prescient? Lengthen my entrance two tooth barely, shorten my canines and construct out my aspect tooth in order that your complete smile adopted the curve of my lip. “It’s not a complete reinvention,” he stated. “We’re tweaking proportions, sizes, shapes and coloration.”
He additionally assured me that mine was a “minimal prep case,” which means little or no of my pure tooth could be shaved down — an enormous reduction.
Appointment 2: Momentary Veneers
A couple of days later, I used to be again within the chair for what I used to be most nervous about: the prep and momentary veneer placement. The method was surprisingly easy. Dr. Mavro used his artistic imaginative and prescient to hand-design my temporaries on the spot, sculpting them out of a tooth-colored acrylic materials that mimics the form of the ultimate veneers.
The second I noticed them, I felt my first wave of confidence rush again. I couldn’t cease smiling within the mirror — even with the nitrous oxide nonetheless sporting off.
Appointment 3: The Blueprint Second
Two days later, I had my first actual before-and-after second. Regardless that I beloved my temps, Dr. Mavro — ever the perfectionist — identified tiny tweaks he needed to make to get the proportions good. He reshaped the temporaries with virtually surgical precision, making certain that the ceramists at Apa Aesthetic would have the proper blueprint to work from.
I wore these temps for 3 weeks whereas my porcelain veneers had been crafted by Apa Aesthetic’s in-house masters, who deal with each tooth like a murals. (Professional tip: Don’t chew down on boneless wings or M&Ms throughout this era — temps are fragile. I cracked two.)
Appointment 4: The Large Day
Three weeks later, after my in-house ceramist Miguel accomplished every tooth with hands-on steering from Dr. Mavro, it was time for the ultimate set up.
As soon as my temps had been eliminated, Dr. Mavro meticulously positioned my 14 higher and 4 decrease veneers, adjusting each till they regarded seamless. For each appointment, I watched “The Hills” on their treatment-room good TVs — which, paired with a bit laughing fuel, made the entire course of oddly enjoyable.
Once I noticed the completed product, I used to be speechless.
courtesy of Apa Aesthetic
The Remaining Reveal
“We gave you a bit bit extra of a masculine form with the entrance two tooth,” Dr. Mavro instructed me after my remaining becoming. “We lengthened the 2 aspect tooth after which we lengthened the tooth within the again a bit bit to present it a extra uniform arch to comply with your lip. And we went a bit bit brighter.”
He was proper. My new smile wasn’t a reinvention; it was an enhancement. It nonetheless regarded like me, simply the absolute best model of me.
And better of all? It regarded pure.
“Your veneers ought to really feel regular and it ought to appear to be it’s simply one thing that you may have been born with,” Dr. Mavro jogged my memory. “That’s the thought. It’s good that folks aren’t coming as much as you screaming, ‘Oh my God, take a look at your tooth.’”
Now, just a few weeks later, I can affirm: mission completed. I’ve stopped overthinking my aspect profile. I smile — totally — with out hesitation. Mates, colleagues and strangers alike have complimented me on my tooth, however in a approach that feels natural, by no means overdone.
For those who’ve ever dreamt about getting veneers, take this as your signal to do it — and to do it proper. Dr. Mavro and your complete Apa Aesthetic group deal with smile design like an artwork type. Each element issues, from the primary session to the ultimate polish.
For me, this wasn’t nearly fixing my tooth. It was about reclaiming my confidence, exhibiting up as my finest self. And each time I catch my reflection now, I feel to myself: Rattling, that’s a terrific smile.
